Old Rag Mountain

We hiked Old Rag Mountain for the third time on Sunday, July 15, 2012.

We are both short – barely reaching 5 feet tall. So, there are several unique challenges for us on this mountain.

We would like to offer the following advice for anyone who also might be vertically challenged.

1. The rock scrambling officially starts here!

Use whatever you can to get a grip so that you can pull yourself up onto the rocks. Crawling on all fours is also helpful in order to go underneath the overhanging rocks. Use workout gloves to protect your hands. You may end up sliding down rocks on your backside so wear shorts/pants that won’t easily rip.

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Start of the rock scrambling

2. Crevasse: a deep crack or fissure, especially in the ice of a glacier

The first time we saw this crevasse we thought “what the heck!” We actually thought about turning around at this point until our buddy “The Crazy Bird Man from Fairfax” figured out how to proceed.

The key to this section is to use the little ledge to help lower yourself down.

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Crevasse

3. Nemesis: something that a person cannot conquer, achieve, etc.

This is a narrow section with smooth boulders (you have no traction!). You must climb up the smooth boulders but there are no obvious places to anchor your feet and any useful handholds are beyond our reach.

We have needed help to get through this section in the past. The first time a hiker was descending and pulled us up over the boulders. The second time we got a boost up from a young lady who was taller than us so that we could reach a handhold.

This time someone was nice enough to leave us a rope! If you don’t have a rope, then make sure you are hiking with some tall friends or bring along Spiderman.

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Nemesis

4. R40

Our legs are just too short to step from one rock to the next rock. The drop between the rocks is more than 6 feet down so jumping from rock to rock was not an option for us.

Step 1: Lean onto the rock on the left

Part 1 – Lean onto the rock

Step 2: Slowly inch your body up the rock until you can stand

Part 2 – Inch your body up the rock

To read more about Old Rag Mountain, click here.